Matthew 8:34,
“And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw
him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.”

What
a sad Scripture! In Matthew 8:34 the community of Gergesenes came out to ask
Jesus to leave and not come back. Can you imagine? They asked God to leave!
They wanted Jesus to go away.

I know what it means to be despised and
rejected of men. People don't care if you're a Christian, just so long as
you don't preach it to others. But the moment you try to convert anyone over
to Christianity, all the hordes of Hell will attack you. I know the
loneliness of being shunned for standing for the Lord, for proclaiming the
truth and contending for the Biblical faith.

I am hated by multitudes for Jesus' sake; yet
Jesus has promised in Matthew 5:12, “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for
great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which
were before you.” Just as the people of Gergesenes wanted Jesus to leave
and not come back, so do I know the pain of rejection. John 15:19, “If ye
were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of
the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world
hateth you.” Jesus told us that the sinful world would reject and
persecute us for being faithful Christians.

Matthew 8:34 is such a sad Scripture. It's hard
to imagine anyone, let alone an entire community, asking Jesus to depart and
not come back. They didn't want Jesus. They asked Him to go away. How sad!
How tragic! How evil!

America asked Jesus to depart from our public
schools in 1962 and
1963 when prayer and the Bible were banned. Jesus was told to depart and
never return!

The Supreme Court asked Jesus to depart from
its courtroom in 1973 when it ruled that Exodus 20:13 didn't mean
anything... “Thou shalt not kill.” The Supreme Court asked Jesus to
leave and take the Bible with Him. And so abortion was legalized in the eyes
of men; but God still calls it cold-blooded murder.

Jesus was asked to leave the room and not
return, when the publishers of the New International Version began
butchering the Word of God. Although the corruption began in 1965, the final
version was published in 1978. And now Zondervan is at it again, coming out
with the NIV 2011. Jesus has not been invited!

Matthew 8:34 says “the whole city
came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw Him, they besought Him that He
would depart out of their coasts.” The whole city asked Jesus to leave.
Is this not SIN CITY Las Vegas today? Is this not the cesspool of
iniquity in Hollywood? Is this not the wicked city of New Orleans? Is this
not the United States of America?

Jesus is welcomed in my life and I love Him do
dear. Jesus is my righteousness, my life and my Savior. Although the Spirit
of Christ lives within me, I want to be with my Lord in Heaven. I cherish
Jesus' promise in John 14:1-3 to return again, and take me to a place that He
is preparing for me in Heaven. Amen and amen!

What a day that will be, when my Jesus I
shall see;
When I look upon His face, the One Who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand, and leads me through the Promised Land;
What a day, glorious day, that will be!